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In May 2013, I made an appointment with a certain Dr Nunn for a routine blood test. Apparently you’re meant to do this sort of thing when the ratio of your years left on the planet versus years already used up, tips unfavourably towards the latter. I made light of any reasoning behind it, of course, suggesting that my request was purely investigative and of no great consequence. However, Dr Nunn is no fool. Looking straight past the saffron-tinted jellies through which I decipher the world and deep into the very core of my being, he offered me a seat next to the computer. Then he made me wait. For eons.

Time slows down to a crawl when you know you’ve been rumbled. The skinny document containing my records was theatrically scrutinised, and accusatory glances from over the top of his half-moon glasses were staged for maximum gravitas. I knew what was coming next:

Dr Nunn: Smoker?

Me: Er…Not really. The occasional puff, perhaps.

Dr Nunn: How many?

Me: Hmm…Depends on my week, I suppose! (laughs nervously)

Dr Nunn: I’ll put you down for twenty. Sound about right?

Me: Absolutely. (rapid blinking)

Dr Nunn: What about alcohol? How many units per week?

Me: Units? I’m not really sure, to be honest. How do you…

Dr Nunn: Someone of your age should be looking at no more than one or two small glasses of wine a night. Preferably with breaks in between. The liver isn’t a miracle worker.

Me: I see. I think it would be fair to say I do drink a little more than that. Not always, and I do try to keep it to…

Dr Nunn: I need a straight answer. Or we’re both wasting each others time, aren’t we?

Me: Yes, I’m sorry. Well, on the odd occasion it has been known for me to get through half a bottle of red wine in the evening, and sometimes a beer or two.

Dr Nunn:How often?

(long pause)

Me: Every night.

(long pause)

Dr Nunn: No more than that?

(long pause)

Me: No. (swallows)

Dr Nunn: Right, I need you to come back next week. Give this in at reception, they’ll make another appointment for you.

Me: Thanks very much for…

Dr Nunn: Goodbye.

I looked down at the printout thrust into my hand. There, in a little box marked ‘Relevant Clinical Details’ was the evidence statisticians and the red tops pay top dollar for, no doubt to keep social pariahs such as myself out of the surgeries: ‘Screen: High Alcohol.’ And it works. Because I never went back. If half a bottle of pinot and a hop-based aperitif counts as alcohol abuse, my return visit would have seen Dr Nunn strapping me into some kind of detox seat, like Alex from A Clockwork Orange, forcing me to watch endless loops of waterfalls and Bavarian milkmaids until I recanted my feckless ways. Do me a favour…